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Churchill Downs has established the dates for the three wagering pools that will comprise the track’s 2008 renewals of its Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”) and Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (“KOFW”).

The three respective pools for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers will again run concurrently. Pending final approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, the dates for the two wagers will be:

Pool 1 – Feb. 7-10Pool 2 – March 6-9Pool 3 – April 3-6

The Thursday through Sunday pools for both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers will open at noon (all times Eastern) on Thursday. The Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools will close at 6 p.m. on Sunday and the Kentucky Oaks Pools will close a half-hour later at 6:30 p.m.

The 2008 Kentucky Derby Future Wager will mark the 10th year of Thoroughbred racing’s first pari-mutuel future bet. The 134th running of the $2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), America’s premier race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds run at 1 ¼-miles, is scheduled for Saturday, May 3 at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, which was established in 2003, will be offered for the sixth consecutive year. The $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI), a race for 3-year-old fillies, will be renewed for the 134th time on Friday, May 2.

The Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers are minimum $2 wagers and are win bets only. The wagers offer racing fans the opportunity to bet on Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders at odds that could be greater than those they would receive on the day of each race. There are no refunds in either the Kentucky Derby Future Wager or the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager. Winning payouts in all Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pools are based on the odds that are in place on each wagering interest at the conclusion of each respective pool.

Each pool of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers is comprised of 24 betting interests that include 23 individual horses. The 24th wagering interest for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager is a mutuel field that includes all other3-year-old Thoroughbreds. The final betting interest in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager is a mutuel field that includes all other 3-year-old fillies.

James Tafel’s Street Sense, winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby, was the betting favorite on Derby Day, although he had not been favored in any of the three Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools. The mutuel field, or “all others,” was favored in Pools 1 and 2, while Curlin – the then-unbeaten winner of the Arkansas Derby (GII) and the eventual third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, was the favorite in the third and final pool.

Kentucky Oaks winner Rags to Riches was a strong betting favorite on Kentucky Oaks Day, and was favored in two of 2007’s three Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pools. The mutuel field was a narrow 3-1 choice over Rags to Riches (7-2) in last year’s Pool 1.